Acetylene-gas generator



. 1,476,484 T. L. BRAMBLETT I ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR Filed July 10. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .T. L. BRAMBLETT I ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR Dec. 4,, ms. 1,476,44.

Filed July 10. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y g- I gwuenfoz IL firamiaZeZ Z Patented Dec. 4:, 1923.

NETE

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' mater 'NT FFE.

THOMAS LEE BRAMBLETJJ, or roar woa'rn, TEXAS.

AeErYLEnE-eAs GENERATOR.

Application filed an 10,

the hopper from which the carbide is fed into the generating chamber.

The general object of this invention is to provide a hopper which is detachable from the generating'chamber so that the machine may be moved with safety from place to place without danger of the water in the generating chamber and the carbide becoming mixed and thus causing an explosion.

A further object is to provide improved means whereby the hopper is normally held in engagement with the gas generating chamber and whereby the hopper may be readily detached from the gas generating chamber.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction and arrangement of parts a will appear more fully ereinafter.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an acetylene gas generator constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the hopper and portion of the gas generating chamber;

Figure 3 is a to planview of the construetion shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line l4 of Figure 3;

Figure v5 is a detailed section through the latclr43 to show its engagement with the lateh45;

Referring to Figure 1, designates the gas generating chamber, which is of ordinary form, and provided with a sludge outlot 11 at its lower end and a water inlet 12 provided with'a valve 13 whereby water may be fed into the casing, a gas outlet pipe 14-. a trap chamber 15 into which the lower end of the gas outlet pipe discharges, which trap chamber ispartially filled with water and has a water outlet 16, and a gas outlet 17, the pipe 14 being provided with a valve 18 whereby the discharge of gas from the generator may be controlled. The gener- 1922. Serial No. 573,831.

ator is also provided with the usual agitator comprising a central shaft 19 having agitating blades 20, the shaft having a knuckle joint connection to a shaft section 21 adapted to be engaged by a suitable wrench extending through a' normally plugged op'ening 23 in the top of the generator. The generator is also provided with a pressure indicator 24-.

The top of the generator is formed with an opening 25 defined by an upwardly extending flange or rib 26, the margin of this opening constituting a seat 26. The hopper 27 at its lower end is connected to an annular plate 28 which is adapted to rest upon and have gas-tight engagement with this seat 26. To accomplish this purpose a gasket 27' is interposed between the plate 28 and seat 26'. The means for holding the hopper to the seat will be later described.

The hopper at its upper end opens into a diaphragm chamber 30, extending across which is a diaphragm 31 of flexible material. Attached to the diaphragm and extending downward through the hopper is a valve stem 32, which at its lower end carries a valve 33 adapted to close the feed opening 34 in the hopper. When this stem is raised, the valve cuts 0d the supply of carbide to the generating chamber, and when the stem is lowered it permits the flow of carbide to the generating chamber. The stem is screw-threaded where it passes through the diaphragm and is provided with a wing nut 35. Mounted upon the margin of the. diaphragm chamber and extending upward above this chamber is a cage 86 through which the stem passes, and surrounding the stem and bearing at one end against the upper end of the cage and at the other end against the wing nut is a compression spring 37 which urges the valve and the diaphragm downward. The upper end of the valve is bifurcated and carried in this bifurcated upper end is a cam 38 having a handle whereby it may be turned, this cam when turned into one position drawing the valve stem 3% upwardand closing the valve, and when turned to the other position permitting the valve to be shifted by the diaphragm. The hopper is provided with an opening 39, through which the carbide may be placed in the hop the valve is normally urged to an open position by the spring 37 and that when the gas pressure within the generating chamber 10 is increased beyond a predetermined amount the gas will rise into the hopper 27 and press against the diaphragm 31 and causes the valve stem to move upward until the feed of carbide is cut ofl. When the gas pressure is reduced beyond a certain amount, the spring 37 will again force the dlaphragm downward and the valves into open position. Thus there is constant automatic regulation of the feed to suit the gas pressure. By adjusting the wing nut 35 inone direction or the other, the position of the valve' 33 with relation to its'valve seat may be altered to increase or decrease the amount fed and the tension of the spring 37 may be controlled.

The means for holding the lever detachably upon the upper end of the gas tank is illustrated particularly in Figure 2; Mounted upon a bracket 40 on the top of the gene rating tank 10 is a two-armed lever 41, the arms-42 of which are spaced apart to pass on each side of the hopper'27. These arms at their outer ends are provided with han dles, and pivoted to one of the arms is a transversely shiftable bar 43. Pivoted upon a bracket'44 and extending upward there-' from is a ratchet toothed latch 45 which is adapted to engage with this bar or keeper 43. Bearing upon the base plate 28 of the hopper on each side thereof are upwardly extending rods or bolts 46 having nuts at their upper ends, these bolts 0r rods passing through the levers 42.

It will be seen that the hopper 27 is not connected to the arms 42 of the lever 41 but that the springs 47 which surround the rods 46 bear against the arms and bear against the lower heads 46 of the rods 46, which in turn bear against the plate 48. Therefore, if these arms 42 be forced downward they will compress the spring 47 which, bearing against the heads 46, yieldingly hold the hopper plate 28 to its seat 26, the ,lever 41 being held against any upward movement by the engagement of the keeper 43 with the notched latch 45. These rods may be forced down to any desired extent and the keeper 43 will slip over the pintle of latch 45 and will be held from upward movement, thus compressing the springs 47 and thus increasing their tension against the plate 28 to hold it to its seat. I I Now if it be desired to remove the hopper, it is only necessary to shift the latch 45 away from the keeper 43, then turnthis keeper away from its osition across the two arms 42, the springs 4 will then force these arms upward until they strike the nuts on the upper ends of the bolts 46, and the hop per may then be lifted from its'engagement with its seat and the hopper separately rereac es moved to. the desired new "location. Of course, previous to doing this the valve stem 32 is raiseds'o as to prevent the discharge of carbide from the hopper. By making the should increase beyond a predetermined point, the pressure will act to press upward on plate 28 and the hopper against the ac tion of the springs 47 and this will allow the gas pressure to escape until it is reduced to a predetermined degree, whereupon the plate 28 will again close. Thus this connection provides a pop off valve which will instantly relieve undue sion.

The operation of this mechanismwill be obvious from What has gone before. It will be seen that with this construction the hopper may be entirely removed from the generating chamber when the generating chamber and hopper are desired to be moved to another location, as is often the case with convertible acetylene gas generators. It might be suggested that instead of removing the hopper, it would be entirely possible to close the valve and thus there would be no change of the carbide being discharged into, the water during removal, but I have found by experience that it, is better in every way to provide means for entirely removing the hopper so that by no chance can carbide enter the gas generating chamber. Where the hopper is permanently attached to the generating chamber, any chance blow or strain may deflect thelhopper sufficiently to cause the opening of the valve, the generation of gas, a leakage of gas, and a possible explosion.

This machine is designed to be used as a portable generator. For use in the oil fields where gas generators are used as welding outfits and where it is necessary that the generator should be moved from place to.

place. For instance, in oil fields there is nothing but salt water, which cannot be used for the purpose of making acetylene gas, and that renders it necessary to make provision for pure water and be put tb the troubleof emptying the gas tank every time it is necessary to move the acetylene gas generator and refill the tank when ready to use it. By my construction, while the hopper is effective for ordinary use, at the same time the apparatus as a whole is particu larly adapted to permit hauling the machine over rough ground, such as found in oil fields and in pipe line work. Under these pressure and prevent explo circumstances some accident is quite liable to occur to the hopper and it the hopper is not completely detached from the generator .then some carbide is liable to fall into the waters Furthermore, if the hopper is dis water and when the place is reached where it is desired to set up the generator it takes but a few moments time to install the hopper and make the apparatus ready for work instead of having to refill the tank with water and refill the hopper with carbide, as is necessary where the carbide hopper and the water container or gas generator are made in one piece or non-removable from each other. It will be understood, of course, that there is a cover for'the opening in the tank 10 which is disposed upon the seat 26 when the hopper is removed, this cover being held in place by the springs 47 in the same manner that the base plate of the hopper is held in place. I have not illustrated this cover, as its use and construction will be entirely obvious.

Vhile I have illustrated certain details of construction which I believe to be particularly valuable, I do not wish to'be limited to these, as it is obvious that many changes might be made in these details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the inven tion.

I claim 1. An acetylene gas generator including a gas generating chamber having an opening in its upper end, a hopper normally resting upon said chamber and discharging through the opening thereof and into the interior of the chamber, a valve carried by the hopper, means detachably engaging the hopper with the gas generating chamber including springs urging the hop per into engagement with the top of the gas generating chamber, and including a yoke lever adapted to bear on said. springs and means for locking the lever in the required position. A

2; An acetylene gas generator including a gas generating chamber having on opening in its upper end, a hopper normally resting upon said chamber and discharging through the opening thereof and into the interior of the-chamber, a valve carried by the hopper, and operable to entirely close the passage from the hopper, means detachably engaging the hopper with the gas generating chamber including a two-armed lever between which the lower end of the hopper is disposed,the lower end of the hopper having an enlarged base, springs carried by the said arms and bearing against said base, and means for holding the arms in a depressed position to compress said p s 3. An acetylene gas generator including ,a gas generating chamber having an opening in its upper end, a hopper normally resting upon said chamber and discharging through the opening thereof and into the interior of the chamber, a valve carried by the hopper, and manually operable to entirely close the passage from the hopper, means detachably engaging the hopper with the gas generating chamber including a twoarmed lever between which the lower end of the hopper is disposed, the lower end of the hopper having an enlarged base, springs carried by the said arms and bearing against said base, and a-ratchet toothed latch mounted upon the top of the generator and adapted to have operative engagement with said arms to hold them in adjusted position.

42. An acetylene gas generator including a gas generating chamber having an opening in its upper end,'a hopper normally resting upon said chamberand discharging through the opening thereof and into the interior of the chamber, a valve carried by the hopper and adapted to entirely close the passage from the hopper, manually op- 'erable means for shifting the valve, means detachably engaging the hopper with the gasgenerating chamber including a twoarmed lever between which the lower end of the hopper is disposed, the lower end of the hopper having an enlarged base, springs carried by the said arms and bearing against said base, means for holding the arms in a depressed position to compresssaid springs, a ratchet toothed latch mounted upon the upper end or the generating chamber, and

a keeper. pivotally mounted upon one of said arms and adapted to extend to the other arm with which the latch is adapted to engage.

- 5. In an acetylene gas generator, a generating chamberhaving an opening 1n itstop, the top of said generating chamber surrounding said opening being formed on its upper surface to provide a seat, a gasket in said seat, the hopper having a base plate adapted to rest on said gasket and freely movable upward therefrom, springs normally bearing operatively against said plate to urge it to its seat, and means mounted upon the top of the generating chamber for carrying said springs and shiftable to carry said springs away from the base plate to permit the removal of the hopper.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

THOMAS LEE BRAMBLETT. 

